Midnight
by Azaria Stromsis
Summary: The demons came out at midnight. And, she was afraid of the dark. Welcome to her personal hell. Now COMPLETE.
1. The Witching Hour

_Summary: _The demons came out at midnight.

_Disclaimer: _I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

_Author's Note: _Written in about 1 1/2 hours. This is a three chapter story, and I should have the rest posted up soon. Hope you like! And everything _will_ be explained, I promise!

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**Midnight**

_The Witching Hour_

The demons came out at midnight.

They _haunted _her, they stalked her, and they whispered of things that they should _not _know of. They brushed softly past her ankles, their ghostly fingers like the warm fur of a purring cat. They ran their fingers through her hair lovingly, separating each individual strand and then braiding them. Every morning, she woke up with a braid in her hair; every morning she nearly tore her hair out trying to undo the work they had done. They were tangible, barely, but they were. In the full glare of the sun, and the full power of day, she could barely see her demons and her past.

They thrived in darkness though; they _lived_ in the darkness.

They fed off the fear that the dark brought to young girls and boys; they drank from the twisted emotions [_lust, anger, rage, wrath, possessiveness, bloodlust_] the full moon brought out among the teenagers. But their strength lay in the elders. The elders were weak, on the cusp of life and death, always toeing the line. They made them cross that line _unwillingly_.

Midnight.

_Tick. Tock. Ding. Tick. Tock. Dong._

She watched the small clock on her computer screen switch over (11.59.59 moved so quickly, a blink of an eyelid to 12.00.00) and she glanced up at the empty room.

Rows of people lined up before her. A little boy, an older female; a son, and a girlfriend. There were no elders though; all of the elders dueled in private clubs and agencies not on the streets. No, the streets were for teenagers and children and the occasional adult who worked for a living coming to try to relieve their childhood.

She glanced at the end of the line, and saw a new addition. Her eyes widened, and her breath quickened. She couldn't hear past the roaring in her ears because she knew this one.

_Fudo Yusei had finally made his appearance. _

She swallowed and watched as her ghosts and her demons, her fears and the dead embodiments of her pain, file past her slowly but surely. She glanced at the clock again. 12.00.13. She had forty-seven seconds until they faded and she had another twenty-four hours to see her guilt. Every night was the same; she sat for hours waiting for the witching hour to come, and then she would fall fitfully into sleep, dreading the next morning.

She saw a little boy pass, and she thought it may have been the brother Misty had been talking about. But she had not killed him, which she knew for a fact. She had checked up on every single person that was in the room. None of them had died by her hand. But she had _hurt _them. Five of them were paralyzed, seven were kept in mental hospitials, and the others were taking vast amounts of other medications to try and ease the pain she had caused.

But _Yusei_…

She had dueled him weeks ago, and he was just now appearing! It was settled then; she would have to watch closer. His every move (was that a limp?) his every expression (a grimace? of pain?) and his every word (does he hate me?).

12.01.00.

The corporal beings faded as the new day dawned. The time between worlds was at an end, and while they were not in the land of the dead their souls would never really be able to reach the land of the living ever again.

_Her fault. _All hers. She lay down, watching the fan above her dully swing round and round, the cool air hitting her body doing nothing to break her out of her sweat. She thought she heard something rustling, but didn't look. She had long ago learned to sleep with them present. She turned over, pulled a pillow over her head, and closed her eyes.

The demons came out at midnight, and she could do nothing to stop it.


	2. Late Night Rendevouz

_Summary: _The demons came out at midnight. And, she was afraid of the dark.

_Notes: _Yeah! People actually like this; you guys make me so happy! So, as always, please read, review, and if you catch any mistakes (whether they be grammatical, or otherwise) please tell me, and I shall fix it. Expect the last chapter up by Monday.

_Disclaimer: _I cannot claim any affliation or rights to Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. Though, I assure you, I have tried valiantly to secure these rights so we can get Yusei and Aki to proclaim their love and then do naughty stuff on a kitchen table. Ok, so maybe not the naughty stuff...

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**Midnight**

_Late Night Rendezvous _

Fudo Yusei had noticed a strange tradition about his girlfriend Izayoi Aki.

She _never_ slept.

At least, that's what it seemed like what was happening. She went to bed with him, usually around eleven or so after taking care of the twins and putting them down and then she ended up staying up with him just to take time to relax. It was a mandatory time that Yusei made sure that Aki performed while she did the same to him. But whenever he eventually drifted off she always remained awake.

He had never seen her fall asleep before him.

Sure he had seen her fall asleep in the middle of the day; Aki loved catnaps just as much as him. But, when the night approached she grew quieter than usual, casting glances towards the clock anxiously and almost, he couldn't believe it when the name of the emotion finally dawned on him, _fearfully_.

She was afraid of the dark.

But, he didn't think that it was the normal there-are-big-monsters-out-there-scaring-the-crap-outta-little-children afraid of the dark. This fear was much darker, and much more morbid.

Something was wrong; he could _feel_ it. Just like he could feel when another Signer was close, or when to turn on his D-Wheel and just ride around free, it was an instinct. Something was wrong. But, every time Yusei asked, "Aki, are you ok?" she answered quickly in turn, "I am perfectly alright, Yusei." It was a rehearsed line. He could tell by the lack of emotion, the stoniness of her expression. His heart ached in silence when he heard it.

So, he had decided after two months of this odd behavior that he would find out the root cause of the problem. He didn't dare go ask Aki, he wouldn't get anything out of her, and she would probably not talk to him for days or even weeks after.

The chosen night was a Friday. They had had pasta and garlic bread for dinner followed by cake. It was Aki's birthday. Her 20th and the first of any of the Signers since the Dark Signers were defeated. The others had left at eleven, the twins throwing themselves willingly into bed at eleven-oh-five, and Yusei had found himself sitting at the table with Aki, a bottle of some unnamed liquor that Jack brought sitting in between them.

They sat there for a good while, until Aki had slumped over and banged her head on the table wearily, showing him that he obviously needed to get her to bed perform she passed out with exhaustion. The time was at least eleven-forty-five when they had finally closed their bedroom door and gotten into bed. Aki had settled herself by his side, just like always, and he sighed in contentment, just like always. Her breaths evened out and her arms wrapped around his waist, while his eyes closed and he felt sleep tug on his mind, just like always.

Unlike normal, however, he didn't give into sleep. His eyes remained closed and his breaths remained that which they always were with sleep, but he didn't sleep.

He waited.

He pictured the room in his head; large bed facing a TV; closet and bathroom doors on the right; door and the bank of light switches on the right just beyond the other doors; two large windows with a balcony spanning between them on the right; in front of the windows two desks with two open laptops on them. The left was scattered with her stuff; books and pens, pencils and paper. His was covered in diagrams and blueprints. Their decks were on the nightstand along with a lamp that was currently burned out. The entire room, though darkened, was still easily visible however. He knew it even with his eyes closed. It was done in a blue and white color scheme, and the laptops gave plenty of light.

He was on the left side of the bed, and he was facing the doors, while Aki was on the right, facing the laptops. He barely lifted an eyelid, checking to see if she had dropped off yet.

Nope. Her feline eyes almost seemed to glow mutely as she stared blankly at the laptop screens. He sighed in his state of pretend sleep and rolled his head over, so he was now facing the laptops. Peeking once again, he saw what was currently up. A large analog clock dominated the screen with the digital readouts printed on the bottom.

11.59.57.

11.59.58.

Aki's arms quickly unwound themselves from around him. She was taking care not to disturb him, he noticed. 11.59.59.

She sat up in bed, and stared at the space that was beyond the footboard.

The clock dinged twelve and Aki swallowed heavily. Her breath caught, almost like she was holding in a sob, and she shuddered. Yusei glanced down the span of the bed, confused. He stiffened in shock.

There were people standing there.


	3. Mental Manifestations

_Summary: _The demons came out at midnight. And, she was afraid of the dark. Welcome to her personal hell.

_Notes: _Ok, so I wrote this chapter up and then... I didn't like it. It didn't explain everything the way I thought it should be explained so this is the rewritten one. It hasn't been beta-ed so if you catch any mistake, please please _please _tell me. As always, enjoy and leave a review.

_Disclaimer: _I _so_ own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's... that MAY have been sarcasm... yeah...

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Midnight**

_Mental Manifestations_

This was her penance for her sins.

She would watch daily as all the people she had hurt and all the people that she had made feel pain filed slowly past her, glaring at her with accusing eyes. Almost all of them made motions of pain; wincing was common and limping was found on just about everyone.

But the real hurt on her soul came with the last person. Yusei. He was always the last, even when new people were added to the lineup he _always_ was last. It was a constant, just like the real Yusei that lay beside her. He was always warm, and he was always last to glare at her. He was always kind and he had a smile for her always. He was always last in line. He was always going to have cobalt blue eyes that could break down her walls in seconds; he was always going to be the last set of eyes.

She resisted the urge to glance over at the clock; resisted the urge to see just how many seconds had passed since midnight had struck and how many more she had to endure.

Then, finally, the part that she always dreaded. Yusei stopped at the end of her bed. He stood there, and he opened his mouth and she knew the word that would come out of his mouth. She had heard it so many times, "Why?", that she could probably repeat it exactly as he said it. The same pitch and the same length of time, she would be able to copy it _exactly_.

That word _haunted_ her existence.

She breathed in deeply as his mouth opened.

"Aki."

She gasped and froze as the word rolled across her skin, its intonation warm and not cold. She sobbed as she felt Yusei sit up and wind his arms around her from behind, his chest pressed flush against her back. His breath was on her neck, then her check against his cheek. He rubbed his face against hers soothingly, his stubble catching against her smooth skin, and he whispered again. "Aki." She bit her lip and glanced over at the clock. 12.01.03.

"Why hasn't he gone away?" She sobbed, her legs involuntarily being drawn up against her chest as she hugged them to herself. She kept staring at the corporal form of her beloved as the real Yusei (the warm Yusei, the real, living, breathing Yusei) moved closer to her. She shuddered.

"Aki, why do you do this?" The question was soft and the breath it took disturbed a lock of her hair. She drew in ragged breaths, panic spreading through her veins. Her heart pounded in her ears, and it took all of Aki's mental focus to listen to Yusei. Glancing over again the clock now read 12.01.15.

"You can see them?"

"Yes."

She choked back a sob, a meaningless effort. It would escape anyhow. "It's my fault," she whimpered as his arms tightened around her. "My fault, always my fault," she babbled uselessly, sobs ripping themselves from her throat, trying to explain herself, "They're in _pain_ and I caused it!"

His hands came up to her cheeks and wiped tears away. He shuffled their bodies so they were facing each other. Their foreheads touched. "They are not real, Aki."

She nodded. "Yes they are, Yusei. I see them every night! I feel them in the day; I see them in the day! They braid my hair in the mornings! You've seen it!" She was openly sobbing now, clutching his now soaked with tears shirt.

"You feel guilty, Aki. But they are not real."

"Do _not _say I am imagining it, Yusei! I see them, you see them-"

"Your powers," he interrupted, "your powers, Aki. You are a psychic; and with your powers you connect your mind with the living world. Your powers thrive off of your emotion. Your guilt is so burdensome it's forcing your powers to try to make you relieve that feeling by projecting into the real world."

He had known as soon as he had seen his body, battered, beaten, broken, and defeated standing at the end of the bed. He didn't know why he hadn't noticed before but the room tingled with power, tingled with the unnerving sense that most people usually got when they faced psychic powers. He had felt it for the first time when he had dueled Aki, and the image of him broken, after the match, was what triggered the reasoning of his mind.

Aki was using her powers and people had started showing up in his room. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure it out.

She was sobbing and shuddering in his arms, and his heart clenched and twisted and it hurt dammit but he had to ignore it for now. Aki needed this. "It is not your fault." He whispered again and again, hugging her and never once loosening his grip. "It isn't." He cooed, running his hands over her back, trying to put some warmth back into her suddenly cold body.

"No!" Aki yelled out, but her voice shook and wavered. "No..."

"Aki, think," Yusei commanded, rocking her back and forth now. "It all fits."

"And midnight?" She intoned lowly, tears running down her cheeks and staining his shirt. "Why midnight?"

"The Witching Hour. The supposed weakening between worlds, the world of the living and the world of the other people not living."

"My hair." Aki stated wealy, trying to find a way out of the logical path that her mind now saw. "I _hate _my hair in braids, why would I do that? And don't say my powers."

"I won't say it but its still true," Yusei fired back calmly, pitching his voice lower trying to calm her down. His answer, though, only brought a new wave of tears, sobs, and pain for the young girl in his arms.

Corporeal Yusei dissipated, smiling at the two of them which neither noticed. Yusei pulled her down to the mattress and pulled the blankets over their heads, distancing them from the outside world. It took a very long time for Aki to finally calm down, enough so she could actually talk regularly. Through her own devices, with no prompting from Yusei, she started speaking of her past. She started at the very first person in line and moved on from there. They didn't make it through half of the line before she started to drift off. For the first time, Aki fell asleep before Yusei, content with his eyes on her and his arms around her. She fell asleep to the softly crooned lullaby of, "It's not your fault, it's not your fault, Aki."

Against her instincts, she started to believe his words.


End file.
